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Grindylow
About 4 feet long from head to tentacle tip, grindylows appear to be half-goblin and half-octopus, the split occurring at the waist. Grindylows are violent, ravenous creatures that use their spears to hunt or just to poke at things that scream and cry. While grindylows resemble goblins, they are not humanoid ceatures. Nonetheless, these aquatic monsters are just as wicked as the most sadistic of goblins, and take immense pleasure in others’ misfortunes and the spread of mayhem. Thanks to this twisted desire, grindylows have a nasty reputation among both other intelligent water-dwelling creatures and most land-dwelling beings. Grindylows eat whatever they can kill, giving them a rather wide selection of meals. High or low, no one is safe from the brutish assaults; tribes of merfolk have been overwhelmed by bands of grindylows, as have galleons full of experienced sailors. While obvious predators such as giant eels or sharks evoke great fear from grindylows, no enemies are more hated than the squid, be it common or giant. None are sure where this disdain stems from, but it is speculated that a squid is to an octopus for a grindylow what a dog is to a goblin dog for goblins. Incredibly fond of their similarly designed kin, grindylows believe octopuses to be the epitome of beauty, with squids being regarded as hideous freaks in comparison. There is no greater insult to a grindylow than being called a squid. While grindylows can take class levels to gain power, certain grindylows are freakish throwbacks to a primal age—these grindylows never cease growing, and in time can become massive beasts of Huge size. Unlike the typical grindylow, these giants can attack with all six of their tentacles and constrict with great effect. Giant grindylows are fortunately quite rare. Stats Size/Type: Medium Monstrous Humanoid (Aquatic) Hit Dice: 6d8+6 (31 hp) Initiative: +1 Speed: 15 ft. (3 squares), swim 30 ft. Armor Class: 19 (+1 Dex, +4 chain shirt, +4 natural), touch 11, flatfooted 18 Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+9 Attack: Longspear +9 melee (1d8+3) or Claw +9 melee (1d4+3) or Tentacle +4 melee (1d4+1 plus numbing poison) Full Attack: Longspear +9/+4 melee (1d8+3) or 2 Claws +9 melee (1d4+3) and 2 Tentacles +4 melee (1d4+1 plus numbing poison) Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. (10 ft. with tentacles) Special Attacks: Tangling tentacles, numbing poison, spells Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., echolocation, hide in plain sight, hold breath, scent Saves: Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +8 Abilities: Str 16, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 6 Skills: Hide +6, Listen +10, Move Silently +6, Spot +10, Survival +10, Swim +9 Feats: Power Attack, Great Fortitude Swim-By Attack Environment: Aquatic Organization: Solitary, pair, party (5-8), hunt (11-20 plusa 3rd-level Ranger), band (20-80 plus 100% noncombatants plus four 3rd-level Rangers and one 4th-level Ranger chieftan), or tribe (70-160 plus 100% noncombatants plus eight 3rd-level rangers, six 4th-level rangers, and a 10th-level Ranger patriarch) Challenge Rating: 4 Treasure: Standard Alignment: Usually Lawful Evil Advancement: By class level (Ranger) Level Adjustment: +3 Tangling Tentacles (Ex) Although a grindylow can’t attack to cause damage with its six tentacles, these wriggling legs constantly writhe and reach out to tug at and trip adjacent foes. Grindylows gain a +4 racial bonus to trip an opponent. Stability (Ex) Grindylows receive a +4 racial bonus to when resisting bull rush or trip attempts while standing on the ground. Numbing Poison (Ex) A Grindylow’s tentacles are covered with thousands of small stingers that inject its prey with a paralyzing poison. The poison has a DC of 15. It has initial damage of paralysis for 1 round, and secondary damage of 1d6 Dexterity. The save is Constitution-based. Spells A Grindylow casts spells as a 3rd-level Druid. The DC of its spells is equal to 13 + the spell’s level. Spells marked with a * are from the Spell Compendium; replace them with any appropriate druid spell if you do not have that book. A Grindylow with Ranger levels does not gain normal Ranger spellcasting; instead, he may add half his Ranger level to his effective Druid level for spellcasting. Typical Spells Prepared (4/3/2) 0th–detect magic, guidance, know direction, resistance. 1st–camouflage*, cure light wounds, magic weapon. 2nd–bull’s strength, kelpstrand* Echolocation (Ex) A Grindylow can see using echolocation, granting it blindsight out to 30 ft. while it is submerged in water. However, it can only perceive things in the same body of water as it using this blindsight. It loses the benefits of this ability in an area under the effect of a silence spell or similar effects. Hide in Plain Sight (Su) A Grindylow can use the Hide skill even while being observed. As long as it is submerged in water, it can hide itself from view in the open without anything to actually hide behind. Hold Breath (Ex) A Grindylow can hold its breath in order to go above water. It can survive out of water for a number of hours equal to its Constitution score, after which it begins to suffocate. Skills A Grindylow has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line. Shadowsea Grindylows Have both the Shadow and Demomic templates. Category:Abberations Category:Grindylows